I Knew
by ShieldMaid4JC
Summary: In the back of my mind, I knew that this would happen, I knew that there were risks, but it was worth it. DS I mean, come on, do you really have to ask? Constructive criticism only. Be nice to the newbie!


Life is a very fickle, fleeting thing. One moment you are only a child just trying to discover what life is really about, and the next you find that the pain of real life has been thrust upon you, and you are forced to grow up all too soon. That morning I discovered what that really meant.

I awoke bright and early, not wanting to miss a moment of the day that awaited me. That day, my boyfriend of exactly two years and I were celebrating.

After I dressed myself, I fussed with my makeup and hair tirelessly, something that I had only started doing that since Danny and I started dating, normally, I could not care less what I looked like. As I sat at my mahogany desk, my mind wandered to the first day that we had decided to get together. Valerie, the typical hotshot, clique prone, dead gorgeous girl that Danny had been currently devoted to broke his heart by deciding to break off her relationship with him so that she could continue her _hobby_ if you could call it that of ghost hunting, mainly to go after the most notorious ghost kid in Amity Park, Danny Phantom. At the time, she had no idea that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one in the same.

So, with no where else to turn he came to me, one of only four people on earth who could possibly hope to understand what he was going through. It was then that I finally admitted my feelings for him, feelings that I had been keeping inside of me since the beginning of our eighth grade year. Much to my surprise, he admitted that he had felt the same but had always been afraid of taking up a relationship with me, at the risk of losing my friendship if it did not work out and then once he discovered his ghost powers, and as a result, gained several dangerous enemies he now had to fear for my safety. I smiled, remembering what our first kiss had been like. The whole thing was rather quick, probably about fifteen seconds tops, but it was fifteen seconds that I had spent kissing the man that I had wanted for as long as I could remember. My mother screamed at me from downstairs in her harsh voice snapping me away from my dream world.

"Sammykins, Daniel's here!" she yelled.

"I'll be down in a minute!" I screamed back.

_Why does Mom still insist on calling him by his proper name?_

I took one last look at myself in the mirror, my ebony hair was arranged in an extravagant bun, my usually dark makeup had lightened up slightly my lavender irises complimented by the lilac eye shadow and lipstick that I had been wearing, and I was draped in the most formal dress I had, a long black evening gown that reached my ankles, touching my matching high-heeled sandals._ Perfect _I thought. Then I scurried downstairs.

Danny was already waiting for me at the door. He was much taller than he had been when I first met him, standing at about six foot two, dressed in a long black tuxedo, and dress slacks that ran down to his polished dark dress shoes, getting his first hints of five o'clock shadow, his midnight locks arranged in miniature spikes on his head, and his turquoise eyes staring into me with longing, as if he could see right into the depths of my soul.

"Come on, we're going to be late," I said, pushing him out the door, before my parents could notice the awkward exchange between the two of us. As we sped towards his new

hotrod red Ford Explorer, Danny, being a gentleman had opened my door for me before barreling into the front seat and driving away as fast as the speed limit would allow. At first the ride was rather uneventful. Ever since Danny's deepest secret about him being half ghost had accidentally leaked two years ago, he could never afford letting his guard down. So far, it looked as though we had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.

We were about to be stopped at our fifth stoplight when I saw a familiar figure floating in the air above us. Just then, a whiff of blue smoke escaped out of his mouth, _his ghost sense,_ letting him know that a ghost was near. He scanned our surroundings but did not sense anything out of the ordinary, at first. Then, we found ourselves staring into the deep maroon, cold, hateful eyes of a longtime archenemy that Danny had made early on, Vlad Plasmius. His rigid figure stood in front of us menacingly, dressed in a long ivory cape, his dark hair perched on his head curved in the shape of a "u" on the top of it, his sickly, pale blue skin, vampire- like pointed teeth and ears only adding to his fearsome appearance.

"Hello, Daniel", he sneered coldly.

Before we had time to react he reached out and with a forceful magenta colored ectoplasm blast knocked the car clean off the road. As we flipped endlessly, my world faded from view. Sometime later, my eyes shot open, and I was hit with a blast of the icy air. It was then that I became aware that I was no longer in the car with Danny but lying on cold hard pavement. I tried to stand up, but my body protested, leaving me feeling lightheaded. After attempting to stand up several times, but failing, I finally made it. Then as I waited for the world to stop spinning, I gradually became aware of my surroundings. Gazing about me I found that I was on a country road in a dark forest. Evergreen trees shot up in the distance nearly blocking out the sun that was blazing brightly above me, nearly blinding me. For a minute, I could not remember what had happened, and then my memory returned... I had been driving with Danny. Right where I stood I froze. _Danny. _Where was he?

Slowly, I searched around me, my eyes resting on a mangled mess of metal on the side of the road. As I moved in for a closer look I realized with immense shock that that mangled mess was Danny's car. Horror seized me as I ran ignoring the pain that shot from my legs with each stride.

Little did I know how unprepared I was for what met me.

Danny sat, unmoving and certainly unconscious in the driver's seat trapped in the mass of broken metal and dislocated car parts; a deep maroon substance ran down his face, blood, it was everywhere.

_Oh, God, please let him live, _I prayedArising out of the shock that had overtaken me, I remembered the cell phone in my pocket; I had hoped that it had not been smashed on impact. I got it out, thankfully it still worked, and dialed 911.

As calmly as was possible at that point, I attempted to explain our predicament. The attendant on the other line assured me that assistance would arrive in a matter of minutes. Sure enough about four agonizing minutes later, the sound of screaming sirens filled my ears as scores of paramedic swarmed out of the incoming ambulance. Several had taken one look at the car, and grabbed crowbars preparing to pry the vehicle apart. An assistant with blazing evergreen eyes carefully lifted Danny onto the waiting stretcher. Not even waiting for permission to do so, I huddled in the back of the ambulance. The whole way to the hospital, I watched in horror as they tried to revive Danny. Then I remembered his parents, they would have been worried by now. So, I flipped my cell phone on, punching in the speed dial, it rang for a while then, Mrs. Fenton answered. Despite how I felt, I tried not to sound too panicked.

"Mrs. Fenton? You need to get to Oakwood General Hospital right away; Danny...Danny's been in an accident."

"I'll be right there," she had replied urgently, and then the line clicked.

The ten minutes that it took to get to the hospital seemed like hours to me.

When we arrived Danny was rushed into the trauma ward and I was told to wait outside. For countless hours, I waited, trying to grasp what was happening. '_How could this have happened' _I remember thinking. Several minutes after that, my thoughts were interrupted by a small voice at my side. I looked up from where I had hung my head to find Mrs. Fenton clad in her usual aqua blue jumpsuit with ebony trim, her amethyst eyes once filled with wonder and excitement were now shrouded by a stare of love and concern, her bright brunette hair was a disheveled mess.

"Sam, are you okay, what happened," she had said. I could only stare at her.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," I said dryly, once I could finally speak, she would find out soon enough.

For a while the two of us just sat there, anxiously waiting for any news on Danny's condition.

Finally, a plump, undersized man with short grey locks that protruded behind his rather large ears but was somehow missing from the crown of his head, dressed in a long ivory lab coat sporting the thin indigo stethoscope that hung loosely around his neck strolled up to us.

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Fenton," he said, turning towards her. She nodded. "My name is Dr. Lowry; I'm the head trauma specialist here at Oakwood General," he said reaching out to shake her hand.

"How's Danny?" she had managed to whisper.

"He's stable, for now, but he's not quite out of the woods just yet, we still have yet to determine how much neurological damage he sustained in the crash, he's awake now, and is asking to see someone named Sam, says she's his girlfriend. Is she anyone you know?"

"That's me," I said, rising out of my chair.

"Then come with me," he said.

Silently, I followed him down the hallway, mentally preparing myself for whatever might face me when we reached our destination.

As we entered the room, I could hear Danny and his quiet moan echo throughout the room. The stale, unpleasant odor of disinfectant filled the room. My eyes traveled to the middle of the room, I saw a trademark hospital bed, on it laid Danny, but he looked nothing like the Danny that I knew. His body looked like it had been crushed; intravenous lines and monitoring machines were now attached to all points of his fragile body. Slowly, and painfully his head turned and his gaze met mine. The beautiful clear turquoise eyes that I had come to love so much over the past few years where now bloodshot, glazed over and barely open. Utter agony was etched on his every feature. I breathed in a sharp breath of air, trying to calm my raging nerves. It was killing me on the inside to have to see him like this.

"Danny...its Sam," I said, grasping his pale, limp hand that hung loosely at his side.

"Sam..." he whispered, "I'm so sorry,"

"Sorry for what?" I said straining to hear him.

"I'm sorry for everything, getting you into this, and putting you in danger because of my enemies."

"Its okay, Danny, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is," he said coughing harshly as he spoke. "I should have never gone in the ghost portal in the first place."

"Don't say that, if it wasn't for you, this town would not be a safe place to live, if it weren't for you, Pariah Dark would have taken over Amity Park."

I shivered, remembering the day that Danny had faced him, the day that I had almost lost him. A strong hand briskly brushing across the back of my shoulder interrupted my thoughts, it was Dr. Lowry.

"Sam, may I speak to you for a moment _in private_?" he had said, putting extra stress on his last words.

"I'll be right back Danny", I said, kissing him lightly on the forehead before getting up to follow the doctor outside the gossamer peach curtains.

"We just got the results back from the M.R.I, and I'm afraid I have some bad news."

With those words, I felt my whole body tense up with apprehension.

"Danny has a potentially lethal sub- dural hemotoma."

"Which means?"

"He has a bruise on his brain that could end up killing him."

"Oh...," my voice trailed, wishing that I had never asked.

"As much as I hate to say this, there's more."

"What," I muttered, trying to stay calm.

"He also suffered intensive internal hemorrhaging in his lungs and heart, and the muscle is slowly weakening."

"What does that mean" I asked, confused.

"His heart and lungs are weak and bleeding from the inside, there's nothing that we can do to stop it."

My heart felt as though it was going to break.

"How long does he have," I whimpered, instantly regretting even asking.

"It's hard to say, but based on the rate of the flow, which is steadily increasing I would say anywhere from three hours to three weeks."

"Why are you telling me this, can't you get in trouble for invading his privacy or something like that," I inquired, startled.

"You needed to know," he replied, starting to walk away, suddenly he stopped, "Oh don't tell anyone about this okay?"

"I won't," I muttered, almost amused.

Without so much as another word, he left. I stood there for a moment, immersed in grief, the man that I had loved with everything in me since the day that we met was _dying. _Worst of all, I really had no idea when, all I knew was that it would be soon. Unsure of what else to do, I went back to bed side of where Danny had been lying. He looked as though he was sleeping peacefully. Once I was sure that I was not crying in front of him then, the tears came. I needed to get it out now, while I still could, I had to stay strong, for his sake. It was not going to be easy. As if held there by some invisible force, I sat there, glued tightly to my chair, holding his motionless hand as if I was holding on for dear life. Shortly after, Mrs. Fenton joined me. Apparently, she had heard the news as well, and was trying to keep her own tears from escaping. We held each other, neither of us saying a word. At that point, there was not really much that could be said, but I was comforted by the fact that I would not have to go through this alone. Days passed, and as my strength grew, the confidence Mrs. Fenton had waned. She did not say anything verbally, but I could tell that the stress of the situation was wearing on her, just as it was wearing on me. Danny's condition began to steadily worsen. Soon, we were informed that it was necessary to put him on life-support. This realization rocked me; I knew that Mrs. Fenton was of the _peaceful death_ persuasion, meaning that she was anti- life support. There were no reasons that I could think of that she would let that happen. Much to my relief, she consented, buying Danny some precious time. Within a matter of days, however, he slipped into a coma. At that time, we were told that based on his condition, this coma was permanent. Only days later, Mrs. Fenton pulled me aside, the look on her face telling me that she was about to say something that I did not want to hear.

"Sam, I can't stand it anymore, seeing Danny like this, I'm going to tell them to take him off of life support."

That statement hit me with the force of a nuclear bomb. Before I could stop myself, I felt anger build up inside me.

"What! You can't do that!" I yelled, losing control of my emotions.

"I have to," she replied in a voice so calm that I thought that I was going to be nauseous.

"So, let me get this straight, you can't stand to see him in a coma but you have no problem seeing him dead!"

Mrs. Fenton's face fell.

"That's not what I have a problem with, what I have a problem with is seeing my baby suffer," she said quietly.

"How do you even know that he's really suffering? I can't believe that you are really going to give up on him that easily..." Mrs. Fenton cut me off.

"Sam, it has to be done, Dr. Lowry said that he'll never wake up."

"So? Doctors have been wrong before, you know."

"Sam, please, don't make this anymore difficult than it already is," she pleaded.

"Give him another five days, please," I pleaded back.

For a moment, she looked as though she was deep submerged thought.

"Well, I don't know what good it will do, but I will."

"Thank you." I whispered, returning to Danny's side.

"Come on, Danny," I pleaded, "Wake up, your mom is going to give up on you, please, I don't want to see that happen."

"You won't have to," said a small, weak voice at my side. I turned to face the source of that voice and I saw with shock, Danny's now clear turquoise irises meet my gaze.

"Danny" I yelled, holding him in a chokehold embrace.

"Sam can't, breathe," his muffled voice echoed from my side. Startled slightly, I let go.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

"I don't know, my head's spinning right now, and it feels like someone shoved a five hundred pound weight on my chest."

Secretly, I was trying to keep myself calm and reserved, to convince Danny that everything was going to be okay even if I did not believe it myself.

"Sam... I don't have much time, there's something I want to tell you..."

"What?" I asked curiously.

"I love you."

I was stunned, I had been waiting for so long to hear to hear those words from him and now, they stung.

"I love you too," I said, my stoic disposition betraying the emotions building up inside me.

He smiled knowingly at me and then his face froze into a look of shock, as his body began shake violently, threatening to dislodge any one of the tubes routed in it. For a moment, I was frozen in fear. Quickly snapping out of it, I paged a nurse. She took one look at his body and paged Dr. Lowry, who then rushed him downstairs and out of my sight. They were gone for hours, and then they returned.

"I don't know what caused the sudden remission, but it was short, he is still comatose," Dr. Lowry said.

My heart sank. These next few days would be the longest days of my life.

They came and passed, and Danny had still not improved. Mrs. Fenton was at the end of her rope. The deal was up. As much as I had tried to fight for his life, I had lost.

It was a Wednesday morning, when Mrs. Fenton pulled me aside once again.

"Alright Sam, I listened to you, now I need you to listen to me, I have to do this," she said, her voice filled with a resolution that told me that she was not going to listen to anything that I had to say.

With those words, my heart broke. There was nothing that I could do to stop it. But somehow I found peace in the fact that at least Danny finally knew how I felt.

Moments later, I was back in Danny's cubicle, sitting in the same skeletal, cold, hard metal chair that I had been sitting in during the whole ordeal.

"Are you sure about this?" Dr. Lowry asked one last time.

Mrs. Fenton nodded. I wanted to scream; I wanted to run away, I wanted to save Danny's life like he had for me, too many times to count, but there was nothing that I could do, I was helpless. The world seemed to move in slow motion as I saw Dr. Lowry remove the respirator from Danny's throat, along with the countless other tubes attached to his body. Silence and grief hung over the room like a curse. In a matter of moments, I knew that I was going to lose the only man that my heart would ever have me love. As the heart monitor that Danny had still been attached to let out a long beep, I knew that Danny was dead. I hung my head limply in defeat, it was over. Suddenly, it stopped completely and set out a round of short beeps. Frightened beyond words, I could only stare in shock, as his chest heaved in and out, and his eyes flew open.

"Air!" he gasped as his face turned a subdued shade of indigo, and he slipped into a dead faint. Without the slightest hesitation, Dr. Lowry sprang into action.

"Code Blue" he yelled into the intercom. Within minutes countless doctors swarmed Danny like bees swarm over honey.

I could only stand back and watch in fear. To my relief, after much toil and some stressful moments, they had succeeded in reviving him. Mrs. Fenton was shocked at what she had almost let happen. Later, after my emotions had recovered from what I had experienced, I went to see Danny. He was in the same state that he was in before, nothing had really changed but the good news if there really could be any at that point was he was back in remission. Once again, I grasped his hand as long overdue tears streamed down my face; I could not believe that I had almost lost him. In my mind, I knew that this remission like the last was only a temporary one. Utter anguish attacked me on all sides as I began to weep.

To my surprise, he grasped my hand back as his eyes fluttered open.

"Danny," I whispered.

"Sam...What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, the painful memory of what I had been through coming back.

"Oh." A moment of silence passed between us. Then I broke it.

"Danny, did you mean it?"

"Mean what," he asked, his voice carrying an air of bewilderment.

"What you said to me."

"What'd I say?"

_Idiot._.. I thought, _Of course he doesn't remember_.

"You told me..." I stammered, _what was I thinking? _"... You told me that you loved me."

There was no hesitation in his voice as he answered me.

"Yes. I meant every word."

"What about you?" he said suddenly, shocking me.

"What'd you mean?" I decided to play dumb.

"You said that you loved me too, remember."

"Yes, I meant it."

"You did?"

"Yes."

I opened my mouth, trying to say something more, when Dr. Lowry entered the cubicle. It was only then that I realized that Mrs. Fenton was in the room the entire time. My face flushed as I looked back at Danny, his face was as red as mine, apparently we both had no idea that she had been there. At that point, I really did not care; at least, both of us finally had it out in the open. After a minute of awkward silence, Dr. Lowry finally spoke up.

"Well, we got the test results back, everything is still the same, and there's no possible way to explain how you managed to wake up from that."

I had to smile at that, o_f course there isn't, _I thought then I sulked as the realization hit me, he was still dying and there was still nothing that I could do about it. Tears began to once again slowly make their way across my eyelids. Quickly, I wiped them away in frustration, I could not let him see me cry, and I had to be strong. Finally, Dr. Lowry left, and to my surprise, so did Mrs. Fenton.

"I'll leave you two alone" she whispered in my ear jokingly.

When she had left stray tears bottled around my eyelids, as I slowly lost the battle that I had been fighting with my emotions. Then I could hold it in no longer, knowing that there was nothing more that I could do to prevent it, I wept. Once again, stirring in Danny's direction knocked me out of my thoughts.

"Sam..." came Danny's quiet voice, "Don't cry everything's going to be okay," his reassuring words obviously betraying the fear that he felt for his own life.

"Danny... I wish that I could believe that, but I can't," saying those words hurt more than anything else that I had ever had to say to anyone.

His eyes sank in despair.

"I... I need you tell me that it's okay," he said in a whisper.

"What...What's okay?" _What was he getting at?_

"To leave... to die," he said.

My heart broke, I wanted to say no, to utterly refuse, but one look in his pain-filled eyes, told me that, that was not what he needed to hear.

"I don't want you to go, but I understand its okay."

He read my lie before it even left my lips.

"You don't really mean that," he said quietly.

"Yes, Danny, I do, I don't want to have to see you suffer," I said, struggling to make those words how I really felt, I did not want to see him suffer, but at the same time, I was not ready to let him go.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice fading into a weaken moan as time worn on.

_God, does it really have to end like this, _I wondered.

"Sam..." now, I had to strain to hear him speak. "I love you."

"I love you, Danny."

For a moment, we sat in silence; neither of us could think of anything more to say at that point. His breathing began to become more erratic, then it suddenly stopped, his chest rising one last time, before becoming completely still. The monitors at his side let out shrill alarms.

"Don't go," I whispered, but it was too late, he was gone, for good.

Tears formed around my eyelids, but did not escape, I found myself unable to cry, so I just sobbed. Within minutes scores of orderlies and physicians crowded the room. I ran away in utter horror. He was gone; the man that had made my miserable life bearable was gone. Once I was outside the hospital doors, I collapsed, unbelievable pain seizing my exhausted limbs. My shoulders shook as more sobs began to escape from my body.

_Why, Danny? Why did you have to go?_

For hours, I sat hunched there, unable to move and barely able to breathe for the sobs hacking my body. It began to rain, but I did not notice, the rain could drown me for all I cared. I felt a hand brush my shoulder. Purposefully, I lifted my head just enough to see who it was, expecting that it was probably Mrs. Fenton, trying to urge me indoors. As I wiped my tears away, my vision blurred into focus and I was shocked at what I saw in front of me. A familiar dark spandex suit filled my field of vision, its bearer, an older teen. I looked into his glowing, neon green, tear-filled eyes, it was _Danny Phantom. _

"Danny..." my lips trembled. He fell into my arms, grabbing me in an embrace.

"I'm here," he said.

"Why Danny, why didn't you fight?"

"It was not my fight to fight, I'm sorry."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Move on with your life, I do not want this hanging over your head."

'_It's too late for that,' _I thought.

"I will always be here for you," he said quietly, before vanishing into thin air.

"_Don't leave." _I pleaded desperately.

"_I have to, but I will be back, I promise," _he whispered.

Then he was gone. Hours later I managed to gather what strength I could, and pick myself up off the pavement. Slowly, I trudged back into the hospital. Mr. Fenton who had just arrived to take Mrs. Fenton home was standing arm and arm with her inside the front corridor signing a stack of release papers. When they had finished, Mrs. Fenton took my hand.

"Come on Sam, we'll take you home", she said.

I walked away, unwillingly. Once we were in the RV, I sat myself in the back next to an oddly arranged assortment of ghost hunting equipment, not moving.

Then I remembered one thing...my parents. I had been gone for three weeks never once bothering to contact them; they were not going to be happy. I road the rest of the way home to Amity Park in silence, awaiting the coming storm. The Fentons must have sensed my apprehension.

Mrs. Fenton turned to me once again

"Don't worry Sam; I already called your parents."

"Thank you," I said breathlessly.

"No problem," she said.

Finally, after hours of driving, we pulled up to a familiar driveway. A tall, looming mansion, two- stories high that had been draped in light purple paint, with windows covered in shady magenta window shades stood in front of us. We had arrived at my house.

Mom was standing in the doorway dressed in her normal periwinkle and peach floral garb, diamond earrings hanging loosely from her ears, her usual set of ivory pearls strung about her pale neck; Dad was no where in sight. As if suspended in time, I barely barreled out of the RV. After I had climbed out I turned around briefly to thank the Fentons, but they were already gone.

With nothing else to do, I headed towards the house. Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I dashed past my Mom and upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me. I threw myself on to the king size bed at the middle of the room, burrowed myself beneath the crimson sheets and cried my heart out. My life was never going to be the same. Hours later, I heard a knock at my door; I still did not stir to answer it. Mom's still, small voice came from the other end of the door.

"Samantha, do you want to talk?" I rolled my eyes, talking was the last thing I wanted to do, least of all to her, how did she expect me to think that she could understand?

Nevertheless, I really did not want her worrying about me either.

"Sure," I muttered from beneath my covers, still trying to wipe the tears from my face.

The door opened a crack and I saw my Mom's aqua eyes clouded with concern, her face reflecting an air of uncertainty, she was holding a tray of large chocolate chip cookies in her white gloved hands. She moved to sit next me as I straightened myself out. Silently she set the tray on my nightstand. I was at a loss for words.

"Samantha, I know that there's not much that I could say right now, but I just want you to know, I'm sorry," she said as she sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Sorry for what?" I said, finding my voice.

"I'm sorry for never approving of you and Daniel."

Somehow, I felt compassion for her.

"It's okay, you were just trying to be a good mother, and you didn't know the Danny that I knew."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know, Mom," I answered truthfully, "I'm still trying to process all this," I said holding on to her as more tears threatened to escape.

"Well, I'm here for you; I just want you to know that", she said.

"I know."

Then my tears broke free of their prison.

For a few brief moments we sat in silence, and Mom held me as I cried.

Gradually, my tears subsided, and once again I had cried myself out. My body was seized by exhaustion, and before I knew it, I was asleep. As I slept, I dreamed, dreamed of Danny, I dreamed of life before the accident, and I dreamed of what my life was going to be like from now on. At some unmentionable hour, my Mom woke me up, after a particularly horrifying nightmare.

Coming out of the fog, I heard her voice, urgently calling me.

"Wake up, Samantha, it's just a nightmare," I could hear her saying.

Finally, I opened my eyes. My Mom was holding me in her arms, concern etched in her expression.

Only then did I realize that I had been screaming. I stopped, abruptly, catching myself.

The vision of my dream disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Suddenly, I was thankful that it was a Saturday; school was not something that I was ready to face just yet.

"Why?" I found myself whimpering.

"I don't know, honey, some things are beyond our understanding."

I nodded in agreement, drifting back into a sporadic sleep.

Hours later the morning light woke me up. Begrudgingly, I dragged myself out of bed. Somehow, I felt as though I was walking in a dream. There was no way that this was real. Following my usual morning ritual, I staggered over to the bathroom, and washed my face. The cold water hit it like ice, reminding me of the reality of my situation. After that, I headed to the kitchen. I did not really feel like eating, but seeing as to the fact that I had not eaten much since the day before, I knew that I had to eat something. Resolutely, I decided on a petite apple and some oatmeal. Thankfully, I was the only one awake at that hour. Mentally, I kicked myself, I hated feeling the way that I felt, knowing that it was not what he would have wanted, and that it was not really helping anything. Suddenly I was filled with a new determination. No matter how hard it was, I was going to move along with my life, and get passed this, just like he told me to. Days later his funeral came. The crowd was small, mostly family and close friends. For a moment, I was filled with resentment, he was the town's greatest hero, and only a small group of people had the presence of mind, to give him the respect that he deserved. Almost as instantly as the thought came, I banished it, refusing to give a foothold to any negative feelings I had towards people. Their eulogy was lovely, if rather ignorant of his true heroism. Before I knew it, the viewing began. Forcefully, I pushed myself into the line, wanting to say a final goodbye before letting go completely. As the line inched me closer and closer to the open casket, I was suddenly gripped with incredible nervousness, but I was stuck where I stood. Still, the line kept moving. Then it was my turn. My gaze slowly drifted from the casket to the body that it held, _Danny. _He lay there completely still, dressed in a bulky, black, pressed tuxedo, with the head of a red rose pinned to his jacket, his hair had been neatly styled flatly nearly covering his eyes and neck, his eyes shut tightly, his pale hands draped in an interlocked position over his waist, looking as though he was only sleeping. The morticians had done an excellent job at making him appear as life-like as possible. Shaking, I reached out to touch his hands. Quickly, I withdrew my hand, struck by the coldness of them. Tears once again, formed around my eyelids, but this time I succeeded in holding them in me.

"Goodbye, Danny," I said, my words failing me as I slowly walked away.

For the first few weeks after I came back to school the entire student body seemed to avoid me. The closest thing that I got to student interaction was the occasional pitiful stares and whispers behind my back. Even Paullina and Dash seemed to pity me. Eventually, even that stopped, and I was grateful, I did not need anyone's pity, it only made things harder. Months passed, and gradually, my life returned to normal. I was getting along great, doing everything just as I had always done.

Finally, I had let go. It took several months for me to stop expecting to see him everywhere that I went, but somehow I went passed that. My senior year came and went without a hitch, no romance involved, my heart had belonged to one man, and that man was dead. After that I decided that I was going to go to a college outside Amity Park, I was not going to stick around and let the memories stay with me. We were about to leave when I suddenly stopped, there was one more thing that I had to do before I left. Quickly I jumped into my sea green Dodge Neon and drove to the cemetery. I had to pick my way through hundreds of headstones before I found the one that I was looking for. This would mark the first time that I had been there since the funeral.

Slowly, I knelt down to the ground running my fingers over the words engraved in the ebony stone _Daniel James Fenton 1990-2007_,_ It Was Not My Fault It Was My Responsibility._

"I miss you, Danny," I said, letting my tears roll quietly and swiftly down my flushed, swollen cheeks, "school hasn't been easy without you; I wish that you were here."

For a few more minutes I sat there in silence before finally getting up.

"Well anyway, I just came to say goodbye, so goodbye," I said I walking away, not even daring to look back.

Hours later I unloaded all of my things from my Dad's trunk, and I saw longing in his eyes as he helped me unload. My parents had wanted me to stay in the city not go halfway across the country, to California nonetheless, but I could not stay if I wanted to.

"Dad, I know what I'm doing," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, Dad, I'm sure," I replied, desperately trying sound convincing.

All of my belongings were soon loaded into my new dorm. My parents had to almost get dragged out before they actually left. Luckily for me, I had time before my new roommate was expected to arrive. I began setting up all my things on my side of the room, when I came across an old photo. Two smiling teens stared back at me, a young man and woman. The young man looked to be about seventeen, his dark brunette locks were gelled into diminutive spikes at the top of his head, he was dressed in plain ivory t-shirt with red trim, his azure eyes reflected an air of wonder and love, the young woman that he had his arms wrapped around looked to be about his same age and was dressed in a lilac and ebony tank top, her dark hair pulled back behind her lavender eyes that reflected the same air of wonder and love as the young man. As I picked it up, I nearly dropped it, it was the last picture that I had of Danny and I before he had died. Shaking, I set it on the redwood nightstand beside my bed. For a moment I glanced at it, before beginning to unpack the rest of my belongings.

Then with nothing else to do, I simply laid down on that stale, uncomfortable bed, unmoving. About ten minutes later I heard a knock on the door. I really did not want to move, but I did not want to be rude either. So, I dragged myself out of bed, and answered it. Apparently, it was my new roommate. I stared at him in shock; I had not known that we were going to have co-ed dorms. Silently, I looked him over investigating the mess that I had gotten myself into. He towered over me; he seemed to be about six foot two, six foot three, well built, dark brunette locks hung in his face, nearly hiding his crystal blue eyes, and his skin was tanned with sun.

"Hi, can I come in?" he questioned, as I stood frozen at the door.

"Sure," I muttered, stepping aside so that he could get through.

"So..." he began once he had gotten settled, "What's your name?"

"Sam" I said, quickly shutting the door. "And yours?"

"Steven."

"Nice to meet you," I muttered, and then I went back to setting my side of the room up.

"If I may ask, who's that" he said, pointing to the picture on my nightstand. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Was my boyfriend, his name was Danny; he died about a year ago."

"Oh, man, I 'm sorry, I didn't know. How did he die, if you don't mind my asking" he asked scratching the back of his neck nervously.

_Man this guy is intrusive._

"Car accident," I replied, trying to hide my anger.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you didn't know."

From then on, we sat in silence. Steven and I started picking up our things, and by the time we were both done it was time for dinner.

"Um... would you like to go to dinner, with me?" Steven asked once again fidgeting nervously.

In reality, I was not even hungry, but I accepted anyway, on a night like this one, it would be nice to have a little company.

"Sure, that would be nice."

With that, we headed down to the campus cafeteria. Once we got our food, we moved to sit in a secluded corner, from then, our mouths moved at a mile a minute.

"So, where are you from?" he asked.

"I came from Amity Park, Illinois, what about you?"

"Same," he said. "Wow, I didn't really expect to find anyone from Amity Park coming here."

"Neither did I," I said, shocked.

We talked all throughout the night, up until the cafeteria staff made us leave.

Over the next few months, we got closer as our relationship grew. Before I knew it, he was asking me to be his girlfriend. At first, I had been hesitant, my heart was still in the midst of trying to heal from the last year's events, but then I decided that it was time to take Danny's own advice and go for it. Our first official date as a couple was rather awkward. In that moment in time we were still getting to know each other. However, the awkwardness did not last long. By the time mid- November approached we were considered in a serious relationship, and our relationship and commitment towards each other continued to grow.

It was about our fifteenth date when I was ready to address my emotions. He took me to the local pier, just at sunset. For countless minutes we stood there staring out at the vast emptiness of the crystal blue waves of the ocean, neither of us saying anything. Then, he took my hand in his; I stared intently into his eyes, and the next thing I knew our lips met in a passionate kiss. I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven. Suddenly, his eyes flashed and he drew me in much closer and more passionately. Instinctively, I pulled away; we were getting too close, too soon.

"Steven, maybe we should slow down," I said, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Sam, I have something I need to tell you," he said, nervousness evident in his voice. "Let's go sit somewhere." He then led me to a nearby bench.

"What is it?" Now, I was beginning to get nervous.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell you this," he said, beginning to shake with the nervousness.

"Come on, whatever it is, you can tell me."

"About a year ago, I was in a terrible car accident, caused by a man that wanted to see me dead. For weeks, I was in the hospital, in critical condition. Then at about the second week I fell into a coma. I don't remember too much after that, just small things. I remember waking up and I remember my mom and girlfriend, then nothing. The next thing that I remember was waking up chained inside a strange chamber. Before I could figure out what was happening, I found myself changing, into a ghost, but not just any kind of ghost, a halfa."

_No one knows what a halfa is, how did he know that _Ithought questioningly.

"After getting over a considerable amount of shock, I found myself changing again, and the next thing I knew, I was outside the chamber, stepping out into this huge mansion. At that point, I really could not comprehend much beyond the fact that I had to get out of there, so I ran, but as soon as I found myself outside I realized that running was not such a good plan and I collapsed in the middle of the street. When I awoke I found that I was in a hospital. I couldn't remember anything beyond what had just happened to me, not even my own name, so as soon as they deemed me healthy enough, they sent me to a social agency, who sent me to the foster home that I had been living at until a few months ago when I came here."

"Wow..." I muttered at a loss for words. "So why are you telling me this?"

"Sam, it's me... Danny."

_Now, he is really crossing the line._

"You're not Danny, your name is Steven, Danny died last year, and I cannot believe that you would be so insensitive to the pain that it caused me!"

"I'm not lying; it's me Steven's just the name that my foster parents gave me when I couldn't remember my own. Come on Sam, take one look into my eyes and tell me you don't recognize me."

He was beginning to sound desperate.

Dispelling any anger that I was feeling towards him at that moment, I gazed into his eyes once again, this time more intently then I ever had before. At first, I did not notice anything other then what I had seen over the past few months, then as I gazed deeper into his eyes I did see something different, something familiar. My eyes strayed to his right eyebrow, in that small space was a rather large pink scar, coincidentally located where Danny had apparently hit his head when it collided with the dashboard. I reeled with the realization, there sitting in front of me was the man that I had missed for so long.

"Danny!" I squealed with joy, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

"It's good to see you again Sam," he said briefly returning my embrace before we broke apart.

"So, if it really was you, all this time, why didn't you just tell me?"

"I suffered severe memory loss after I had woken from the coma and I hadn't remembered anything until just now."

"Oh, what do you think happened?"

"I don't know, but I remember that when we kissed it reminded me of the last time that we were together before the accident."

"I've missed you so much," I said, as tears began to form around my eyelids.

"Don't cry everything's going to be alright now."

Once again, he held me in his arms as my tears began to cease. Nothing could ruin this moment, I had Danny back. Finally, after hours, we got up and walked away from the pier.

"So...how's my family?"

"Oh my word your family" I exclaimed in shock.

"You don't happen to have anyway of reaching them?"

"I still have your home phone if that's what you mean."

"Can I use your phone?"

"Sure..." I said, still partially convinced that this was all a dream. "So, how are you going to explain this all to your parents?"

"I really don't know, I'll think of something."

As we settled back into our dorm, I began to fish around for my cell phone. Then I found it buried underneath a heap of my used clothes. Gingerly, I handed it to Danny.

"It is number one on my speed dial."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The phone rang several times, before someone answered.

I was nervous for Danny, he had already had to deal with me and as hard as it was to convince me, it was going to be ten times as hard to convince his family.

"Maybe, I should talk to them first," I said, concerned.

For a moment, he looked hesitant, and then he conceded, handing my phone back to me.

Mrs. Fenton was already on the line.

"Hello", her muffled voice echoed on the other part of the line.

"Mrs. Fenton? It's Sam."

"Sam, dear, how are you?"

"I'm holding up just fine; listen is Jazz home by any chance?"

"As a matter of fact she is she just came home last night."

"May I talk to her?"

"Sure, hold on a minute." I heard the noise scuffling on the other part of the line as Mrs. Fenton got Jazz to the phone. Danny gave me a puzzled look; he must have not known what I was doing. Moments later, Jazz's voice could be heard on the other line.

"Hey, Sam, what's going on?"

"Jazz, I know that you're going to think that this is crazy, but I have something I need to tell you," I paused, not sure of how to proceed.

"Yes?"

"Danny...Danny's alive," I blurted out.

"Now, Sam, we've been over this, he died, almost a year ago, he's not coming back."

"But he's here with me, right now."

"Sam, you seriously need to think about getting some professional help."

"Trust me Jazz, I wouldn't imagine something like this, and if he wasn't standing right next to me, I wouldn't believe it either."

"Sam...You need to stop it now."

"You need proof?"

"Of course I need proof, you cannot just tell me that my brother, who died almost year ago, is still alive and expect me to just take your word for it."

"Here," I said handing the phone to Danny.

He shot me a slightly cold, puzzled look, and then grabbed the phone.

"Hi um..., Jazz?"

I could hear her screaming through the phone, then silence, she must have fainted.

"She fainted?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what it sounds like."

Then Mrs. Fenton's voice came on the line.

The phone was still on! Thinking fast, I grabbed it.

"Sam... What happened?"

"Mrs. Fenton, I have something I need to tell you, or better yet, I'll show you. How soon do you think you can get here, you won't regret it, I promise."

She sounded puzzled, but luckily for me she did not ask anymore questions, they would be there by Wednesday, it was a Tuesday. I hung up the phone.

Danny just stared at me in shock.

"Believe me, you'll thank me later."

"Actually, I kind of doubt that."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out," I said, grinning.

"You're terrible," he said jokingly.

"I learn from the best," I joked back.

I smiled; we were right where we left off, joking around and poking fun like nothing had ever happened. The next morning, Danny was very tense, and who could blame him, neither of us had any idea how they were going to react. At about ten in the morning, I saw a familiar RV pull up to the parking lot. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton piled out of the front while Jazz straggled out of the back.

They looked slightly irritated, the long trip up most likely taking its toll.

Mrs. Fenton walked briskly to my side; Danny had stayed hidden in the shadows, he had not wanted to attract attention to himself until the time was right. Slowly I walked towards her.

"Hey, Mrs. Fenton how was your trip," I said, quickly embracing her.

"It was alright, but the traffic was terrible, so what is this all about?" We broke apart.

"Let's go sit down."

We walked towards the park in silence.

Only then did I realize that that day was exactly one year to the day since Danny was thought to have died. I was sure that they thought that that was why I called them there. For the longest time we walked in silence until we found an open bench. After clearing a clean spot, we sat down.

"To answer your questions, yes this is about Danny, but no, it's not what you think."

Blank stares met my intense gaze.

"Jazz, a little help here, please.''

She looked at me knowingly.

"Mom, Dad, what Sam's about to tell you may seem a bit out there, but trust me, she's telling the truth."

"Mrs. Fenton, Danny's alive," I said not knowing what else to say.

They were not prepared to hear that, I am sure.

"Sam...You need to let go, Danny's not going to come back."

"I'm telling the truth," I screamed.

"You need to accept it Sam, he's gone."

"No, he's not. What won't you believe me?"

"Sam, when someone as young as you goes through a particularly traumatic experience, sometimes it can cause them to have hallucinations of their dead loved one, do you think that maybe you just imagined him coming back?"

"I AM NOT IMAGINING THINGS!"

"Mom, she's telling the truth" Danny's voice echoed from the large oak tree that he had been hiding behind.

Every head turned in his direction. I could have sworn that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton's mouths dropped six inches. When they blinked several times, I was certain that they thought that they were having hallucination.

"DANNY!" Mrs. Fenton ran up to him, embracing him so tightly that she nearly knocked him over.

"What happened?"

He laughed nervously.

"It's a long story."

So, Danny told them everything, leaving out as much as he could about what happened to him after he woke up. Once he was finished, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were at a loss for words.

Almost three years had passed since that fateful day. Danny and I both graduated at the top of our class with honors, myself with a major in biology, and Danny with a major in law. Six months after that, Danny proposed to me. Gladly, I had accepted. Our wedding was held at the church that Danny and I had just started attending located conveniently on the shore of the beach. As the sun set behind the clouds we had pledged our life and love to one another, it was the most romantic experience of my life. Within our honeymoon to Naples, Italy, I conceived our first born son, David. He was born several months later, an absolutely perfect spinning image of his father.

We then moved to an apartment in Pinewood Ridge, a small town just outside Springfield. Soon after that, though, our happiness was cut short. On Wednesday, January fourteen, Danny pulled me aside. Lately, he had been having unexplainable bouts of extreme pain in his chest, for months he fought the notion of seeing a doctor but soon the pain became unbearable. Finally, after much prodding on my part, he went. When he came home, I could tell that something was wrong. His eyes were red and glistening as he took my hand and led me to our room.

"What is it Danny what did they say?" I said, concern written in my voice.

"Sam... I have cancer. It's spreading at an extreme rate and it's in my lungs."

For a moment, I could not talk; I was too shocked at what he had told me. Then, I found my voice.

"How long..." I managed to mutter.

"Three weeks."

"Danny!" I cried, wrapping my arms around him, holding him for dear life.

"Don't worry Sam, we'll get through this, we always do."

During the next three weeks my life became a blur of rushing from specialist to specialist, treatment to treatment; doing everything we could to fight. In the end, it just was not enough, the last specialist we went to informed us that they had done everything that they could, but the cancer was still spreading. Then it happened, Vlad Plasmius returned and terrorized our town. Danny was determined to stop him, no matter what the consequences.

"Please, Danny, you don't have much time as it is!" I tried to persuade him, but he was beyond persuasion.

"Sam, I have to do this, if I don't stop him, no one will, you know that."

"There has to be another way," I said, reduced to a whimper.

"There isn't. Sam, I love you, I'll be back." With that, he planted a quick kiss on my lips and he was gone.

Days passed, and I was left to wait, hopeless. I had heard nothing and by the third evening I was beginning to get anxious. It was midnight, and I still could not sleep. Reluctantly, after a few hours I drifted into a restless sleep. Suddenly the sound of a ringing phone awoke me from my slumber. Startled, I jolted awake and grabbed the phone, praying that Danny was on the other line. My hopes were dashed as I heard not Danny's soft, comforting voice, but the gruff voice of a stranger.

"Hello, Fenton residence," I said groggily.

"Hello, is Mrs. Samantha Fenton at home?"

"Speaking, what is this about?"

"You're needed at the Cedar Park Police Department, that's all I'm allowed to say over the phone."

Immediately, I dropped the phone and raced into my car.

The whole way there, my mind raced as I tried to prepare myself for what would meet me once I got there. When I arrived, I immediately headed to the information booth. Stammering, I tried to explain myself to the attendant. Briefly, a hand brushed my back. Frightened, I spun around.

Staring back at me was a lofty, rough looking hazel- eyed, blonde hair man dressed in army cameo garbs.

"Hello, I'm Sgt. Griffin, Are you Mrs. Fenton, by any chance?"

"I am, so what's going on?"

"Walk with me."

For what seemed like an eternity, we walked down the endless hallways in silence.

We stepped in front of a closed door; he put his hand on the knob and slowly turned it.

For a moment, I breathed in a sharp breath of air, trying to calm myself, my thoughts racing as he turned the knob. Randomly, I gazed around the room, searching for something to focus on and then my eyes rested on a familiar sight. Sitting at a plain, long wooden table was a man that had not seen since the day that I had left Amity Park, my good friend, Tucker Foley. He had not changed much since I had seen him last, he still had the same dark, oily complexion, his dark hair hidden beneath his trademark red beret, his tan brown eyes once shrouded behind three inch thick black rimmed glasses were now clear and full of tears.

"What is this about," I muttered cautiously, moving to sit in the grey metal chair across from him. For a moment, neither of them answered me. Then Sgt. Griffin broke the silence.

"Mrs. Fenton, I am going to warn you beforehand, what we are about to tell you may be a bit far reached, you need to prepare yourself." I nodded, gazing briefly at Tucker.

"Tucker... what is it? What's wrong?"

He could only stare at me. Finally, he started talking.

"Sam, I don't know how to tell you this," he began.

"Tell me what; does it have to do with Plasmius?" I asked pleadingly.

"Yes," he replied.

"What is it?"

"Sam... I was there, he's gone."

"What do you mean" I questioned, holding on to the faint hope that nothing had happened.

"Plasmius took him after the ambush on his castle, they fought, and it was terrible, Sam I can't even tell you, but he lost."

"He lost?"

"After beating him nearly senseless, Plasmius took him off to another section of the castle, and for a moment, all I could hear was his screams, and then utter silence. Soon after that Sgt. Griffin and his troops came as back up, and tried to take Plasmius into custody, but he got away, taking Danny with him."

"So he has been captured, but that doesn't mean he's dead," I pleaded desperately.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Then Sgt. Griffin spoke.

"We normally wouldn't think so either, but then we received these," he said pulling, a large manila folder from underneath his right arm.

Time seemed to stand still as he pulled two small instant photographs and a folded note from it. Fearfully, he laid them out on the table in front of me.

The first picture was a gruesome display of my Danny, lying sprawled out on a linoleum floor; his eyes shut tightly, his face twisted into a grimace, a large bruise was surrounding his left eye, so swollen that it nearly sealed it shut, his body bent out at odd angles, blood pooled from a stab wound at his side.

I had to close my eyes and get a grip on my raging emotions before I even dared to stare at the next photograph. This time Danny had been strung up on a long metal pole obviously unconscious, Plasmius was standing in front of the camera holding a long, crimson tipped whip in his black gloved hand, a wicked grin plastered on his face. My gaze wandered to the note that was also on the table waiting for assurance from Sgt. Griffin, he nodded.

Carefully, I began to unfold it. I could barely make out Danny's illegible handwriting on the blank page.

_Dear Sam,_

_If you are reading this, I am not coming back home. I just want you to know that I love you, I always have and I always will. Don't think that this means that I won't stop fighting; I will do everything in my power to find my way back to you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me Sam. Don't give up. I love you._

_Forever Yours,_

_Danny_

Slowly, I tucked his note away safely in my back pocket. I could feel the hot tears streaming down my face. Danny was gone, and my heart knew it. After a few moments of awkward silence, I made a break for it nearly fleeing to my' evergreen Dodge Neon. As I gripped the steering wheel tightly the tears came in rushes.

Furiously, I wiped them away determined to focus on the road in front of me. Hours after some of the worst driving I had ever done in my life, I found myself happening upon a familiar driveway. A neon green sign glowed above the front door of the tall, red brick-walled townhouse, _Fenton Works,_ I did not want to do this but they needed to know. As if suspended in time, the ignition died away as I slipped the key out, turning the car off. I took a moment to catch my breath, making one last ditch effort attempt to wipe the tears from my eyes. Painfully, I dragged myself up to the front steps. My hand lightly rapped on the front door. Mrs. Fenton opened it almost as soon as I had knocked. Her expression radiated joy at my sudden appearance but her smile soon disappeared when she saw my face.

"Come in, Sam," she said, and although I barely heard her, I somehow managed to stagger inside the house.

She led me to their extensive living room and offered me a seat. Reluctantly, I sat in a plush maroon recliner as she pulled up an indigo ottoman in front of me and sat down.

"Are you okay," she asked as concern crept across her expression.

"No, I'm not," I answered truthfully.

"What happened?"

"Danny's dead," I said, not knowing what else I could say.

"How," Mrs. Fenton whispered.

"He tried to fight Plasmius, and lost," I answered, sparing her any further details.

"Oh honey," she whimpered, holding me in her arms as we both began to cry.

"I'm so sorry.'

"Sam... It's not your fault."

"I know, it's just, I feel like I could have done something. Where's David," I said remembering that I had left him there when I had left for the police department that morning.

"Upstairs in Danny's room, he's asleep."

Slowly, I trudged upstairs. Family portraits littered the hallway towards Danny's old room. I could not bring myself to look at any of them; they brought back too many memories. As I inched closer to the room, I could hear David's quiet breathing. He may have been a handful, but he slept like an angel. Carefully, I crept towards the bedside and scooped him up. When I did this he let out a soft moan. For the first time in four and a half years, I looked around the room. Nothing had really changed since I had last been there. I turned away; I did not want to have anything to do with anything that reminded me of what I lost, not yet.

Somehow, I managed to make it downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were waiting for me. Quickly, I rushed past them, hoping that they would understand. I did not want to talk. Carefully, I laid David in the car seat in the back of the care He was only four months old, four months old and fatherless.

The car trip home was a silent one, with only David's slow breathing breaking the barrier. Within minutes we were home. I pulled David out of his car seat and walked him into the house. Gently, I placed him in his room, and then returned to the living room. My body sank into the plush crimson loveseat in the center of the room as I buried my face in the overstuffed indigo pillow at my right.

Before I knew what had hit me, I fell into the deep sleep. Days later, I attended his second funeral; it was a hundred times harder than the first. There was no body to be buried, but Mr. and Mrs. Fenton had needed the closure of a funeral. It was only close family and friends just as before, only now I had not minded as much, I had other things on my mind. The Fentons had requested that I make some kind of speech for Danny. That morning however, I was at a loss for words

_What could I say that would completely encompass everything that I had felt for Danny? _

By a miracle, I managed to get to the podium briefly sharing a tidbit of my feelings before I had to pull myself away from the podium to avoid shedding my inevitable tears. Several other speakers took to the microphone, but I tuned them out, it was all the same story, they did not know him like I did.

Months passed, and David continued to grow, becoming more and more like his father with every passing day. In that period of time, rumors circulated around town of Danny's return as Danny Phantom, but I could not believe them, I needed closure. Exactly three months after Danny's supposed death, I was pleasantly surprised.

It was a Saturday night, a night that began just as every one had for the past three months...with tissues. That night I had managed getting home early from my job at the animal shelter. After going to pick David up from the daycare center that I had reluctantly placed him in soon after getting the job, I sped home. Luckily, for me David was content enough to go to sleep as soon as we walked in the door, so I put him in his room. Going upstairs to the room that Danny and I had once shared, I flipped on the television. For hours, it droned on, the same old song second verse.

The tears that had not stopped flowing in three months came like little waterfalls, silently falling down my face. Suddenly, I heard the deafening roar of screaming older male fill the room, and for a moment, I thought I recognized it. The lights of the house blacked out leaving me in absolute darkness. I felt the eerie presence of someone else entering into the room.

"Who are you, I am armed," I warned threateningly, as I heard the small thud of footsteps inching towards me in the darkness.

Fear seized me as I held the trigger finger of my right hand over the nine millimeter pistol that I had withdrawn from a bulky marble vase at my side.

"Sam..., put it down," I heard a familiar voice call out of the darkness.

The pistol slipped roughly out of my hand landing on the marble floor with a loud thud. A green glow began to envelope the room, blocking out my vision. As it began to clear, I saw the outline of a familiar figure form out of the shadows. His snowy white hair drooped in his face, hiding his eyes that let off an electric green glow. I very nearly burst into tears at the sight. He moved cautiously towards me as if I would burst into pieces if he came any closer. Tirelessly, I searched for the voice that I had lost. Finally, I found it.

"Danny? Is that you?"

For a moment, silence was the only answer that I had received.

"Sam... I've missed you so much," his voice cracked as though he was on the verge of tears.

Forgetting everything else, I ran towards him. His arms met me outstretched as he pulled me into a tight embrace. Then without warning, tears flooded my eyes, and I pulled him closer.

"Shh... don't cry, everything's going to be alright," his voice came soothingly at my side.

"How can you say that, how can you know for sure" I questioned as we broke apart

"Sam, would I ever lie to you?"

"No..." I muttered, trying to calm myself. "So what do you plan on doing now," I questioned, my voice quivering as I tried unsuccessfully to hold back more tears.

"I plan on doing what I came here to do, to stay with you."

He pulled me closer, and I leaned in, as he pulled me into a passionate kiss.

An awkward moment of silence passed between the two of us when we broke apart, abruptly interrupted by David's feeble wailing echoing from the bedroom down the hall. Swiftly, I ran upstairs with Danny following closely behind. When I cracked the door open, David's wailing intensified. Carefully, I gathered the squealing seven month old infant in my arms, trying desperately to calm his screams. A gentle hand brushed the back of my shoulder.

"He has gotten so big," Danny said tearfully.

"I think he takes after his father," I replied playfully, betraying the seriousness of our situation.

"Would you like to hold him," I asked, holding David out to his father.

"Yes, I would," Danny replied excitedly, wrapping his powerful arms around the body of his small, fragile, son.

Tears formed in the creases of his eyelids. Instantly, David's incessant crying ceased, as he held Danny's finger in his hand, attempting to swallow it whole. Danny began humming the first few bars of his favorite song.

As he continued several bars into the song, he lost the battle that he had been fighting to keep himself composed. Then, when he finally reached the ending of the song, he lost it. Once he was sure that David was sleeping peacefully, he gently laid him in his crib and exited the room without a sound, save his quiet sobs. Rapidly, he ran out into the living room collapsing onto the couch, holding his head in his hands. I was not sure what I could do for him so I just sat myself down on the seat next to him and held him in my arms as he erupted into massive, heartbreaking sobs. Finally, minutes later, he regained his composure.

"What's wrong Danny?"

Slowly, he lifted his head to face me. His tear filled gaze tore at my heartstrings.

"I'm sorry Sam," he said, his voice dripping with pure agony.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for Danny," I replied, pulling him closer.

"Yes, I do, because _I_ had to fight _my_ enemies, David is going to have to grow up without any real father, and you will have to raise him alone."

"That doesn't matter now, all that matters is that you're here now."

"Yeah, I'm here _now_, but who knows how long that's going to last with Plasmius still at large."

"Danny, I won't let him take you away from me, _not again_," I muttered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Sam, I'm going to do whatever it takes to stay with you."

For the rest of the night, we sat in silence. What sleep that I did manage to get that night was fitful plagued with horrible visions of Plasmius once again stealing away the one that I loved the most.

The next morning I awoke with a start, and for a moment I had not even remembered where I was. My vision blurred into focus minutes later. With shock, I realized that the space beside me where Danny had been was empty. A small, canary yellow note lay folded neatly on the pillow where his head had been. Carefully, I began to unfold it. Immediately, I recognized Danny's small, barely legible handwriting.

_Sam,_

_Don't be worried and don't try to look for me, I've gone to find Plasmius. I don't how this will end, in my favor or not, so I just want you to remember that I love you, I always have and I always will. Stay strong, I will do my best to come back to you. _

_With Love From Above,_

_Danny_

Just like that he was gone, out of my life once again, and even though I had learned to expect it, it was still painful. For days on end, I waited patiently for any news that might arrive. As more days passed, my apprehension grew; I had already lost him once and was not yet prepared to lose him again. I felt like I had to do something, but I was helpless. After several months the faint hope that I had had that everything was going to return to the way that it had been long before all this had happened vaguely disappeared. Even though I had not wanted to I was beginning to lose hope as I continued to be misinformed. Throughout that horrible time in my life two things had kept me going, the thought that somehow, Danny was going to get out of this, alive and the son that he had left behind. I could not bear the thought of David growing up an orphan any more than I could bear to think of him as fatherless.

Three months came and went after he had left. Almost instantaneously, I knew that something was not right. I had to do something, I could not just sit back, and hope that he was alright; I had to see for myself. So that Saturday morning, pushing my car to the very edge of the speed limit I barreled down a familiar road towards Fenton Works. Luckily, they had become accustomed to my frequent visits. Forgetting to knock, I pushed myself indoors, holding David tightly in my arms, hoping that they would not mind. When I turned around to shut the door behind me, I heard Mrs. Fenton's dainty footsteps approach me.

"What is it Sam," she asked once she saw my face.

"Mrs. Fenton, I know that this is going to be strange, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching David for a few hours for me."

"Sure, Sam, is something wrong?"

"I'll tell you when I get back, right now I need to go," I was not trying to be rude, but I was in a hurry.

In a rush I ran to my car, I had a long trip ahead of me, and my first stop was Madison, Wisconsin. Although I had not wanted it to, I felt the sting of the pain that I had gone through all those years ago return. I was certain that if I ever had the chance to get my hands on the moronic villain Vlad Plasmius, it would be all I could do to keep from ripping him apart with my bare hands. Finally, hours later, I saw Plasmius' tall, extravagant mansion looming in the distance. Mentally, I attempted to prepare myself for what I was about to face, but the truth was I had no idea what I was really getting myself into. Unwillingly, I abandoned my car in a nearby forest, I had my doubts about the logic of doing so, but I reasoned that it was much safer to go on foot then in a car; I did not need to attract any unwanted attention to myself. Before leaving, I made sure that I was well armed, the Fenton Bazooka that Jazz had given me for a wedding present lay fully charged in the weapons harness at my side.

Somehow I had managed to keep my noise level down, even though my breathing had become heavy, loud, and labored as I ran. My mind was racing with thoughts, terrible thoughts, _what if I was too late?_ Angrily, I pushed those thoughts away from my psyche, attempting to gain control of my emotions knowing that that was the only hope that I had to save Danny. As I came closer to the back of Plasmius' mansion I cocked my weapon. Slowly, I turned the knob of the back door, hoping that it would be open, it was. Silently, I prayed that it was not a trap. Within minutes, I adjusted to my surroundings, I found myself in the middle of Vlad's lavish living room. There was an eerie calm in the room. A fireplace blazed with the golden glow of a smoldering fire, the heads of various hunted animals hung over the mantelpiece.

Suddenly, I felt chills run up and down my spine as a familiar cold presence entered the room, dropping its temperature by at least ten degrees. Startled, I spun around, turning to face the source of that disturbance. Sure enough, there stood the man that I had loathed more than anything else in the world...Vlad Plasmius. For a moment he stood menacingly in front of me, an evil grin plastered on his face.

"Why hello Samantha," he sneered playfully.

"Vlad," I screamed, "Where's Danny?"

He did not answer, he simply raised his hand, and before I had time to react, he knocked me out with a strong ectoplasm blast.

Hours later, I awoke, my head throbbing with pulsating pain.

Lazily, my eyes danced around the room, searching for something to focus on. I soon found that I was in Plasmius' secret lab, chained against the wall. Then my eyes rested on something else, my heart almost stopped. A forlorn figure lay motionless in the middle of the room, it was Danny, he was chained tightly against the wall appearing to be weaker than I had ever seen him before, his body had been very badly beaten, and for a moment, I began to doubt that he was even alive, but then I saw his chest moved lightly up and down, he was alive if barely. I was relieved but the relief did not last very long. Plasmius was standing over him, holding a large sword posed directly over Danny's heart. He smiled evilly, as he set the sword down and walked calmly over to where he had chained me.

"Ah... Samantha, you're awake, and just in time, I wouldn't want you to miss my moment of triumph," he sneered confidently as he unhooked the chains behind my back from where they had been tied, grabbing my arm roughly as he pulled me towards Danny.

"Danny," my voice came in raspy whisper. Gently, I kneeled to the ground lifting him in my arms as I moved to stoke his dark hair, pulling it from his face. His eyes opened slowly as he met my concerned gaze.

"Sam, I love you" he said.

"I love you too, Danny."

In my heart, I knew that this was the end, and I did not have the choice but to accept it. Apparently, Danny had sensed it too. Moments later we were interrupted by Plasmius' insane, maniacal laughter.

"Oh, isn't that sweet," he questioned mockingly, pushing me aside as his gaze shifted towards Danny.

"Let's finish this," he snickered, picking up the sword once more.

He set it at his side and picked up another object lying on the lab table beside him…the Specter- Deflector. He wrapped it around Danny's waist, causing him to change back into Danny Fenton. Then proceeded to release Danny from where he had been chained. Struggling to gain his footing, Danny stood up.

"Now, I can have a much fairer fight," Plasmius snarled.

"Bring it on, Plasmius," Danny seethed, charging Plasmius and flinging himself on him in blind fury.

They had fought for several minutes before Danny had begun to lose what strength he had, causing Plasmius to gain the upper hand.

I attempted to struggle against the chains that held me down but the more I struggled, the harder they held me down. Sharply I turned my head, forcing myself to stare straight at Danny. He was weakening and distracted, he gazed in my direction, and for the first time since we had met, I saw fear written in his expression. Taking advantage of Danny's sudden distraction, and without a moment's hesitation, Plasmius plunged the massive sword into Danny's chest, laughing devilishly as he did. An absolutely wicked grin came across his face as he roughly pulled it out. Time stood still, Danny stared in pure shock at the wound in his chest that was now bleeding profusely. He struggled for a moment before falling limply to cold, concrete ground with a sickening thud.

It was several agonizing minutes before I could move from where I had been frozen, Danny's body was now completely still, but thankfully, he was still alive. As fast as my legs could carry me, I ran to him gathering him in my arms. He was drenched in his own sweat, blood streaming down from the gaping wound in his chest; as it rose and fell with small, guttering, pain filled breaths. My heart and spirit was broken. I hated seeing him like this, and perhaps for the last time. Gradually, my gaze shifted to the maniac in the corner, it was all I could do to keep from tearing him apart in my fury. Instinctively, I lunged at Plasmius knocking him down with the force. Pure hatred singed my being blocking out any morals that I did have, I was ready to inflict on him physically the same kind of pain that he had caused me emotionally. For several minutes we fought, and I had managed to land several successful punches squarely into his face. He was fading, and fast, but as I lifted my fist to deliver the fatal blow, a small noise coming from Danny's direction interrupted me.

"Sam...Please, don't he's not even worth it," he muttered.

Slowly, lowering my hand to my side, I ran towards Danny.

Giving the fallen Plasmius a death glare, I turned around to face Danny. I saw a pleading look on his face, I recognized that look; it was the same look that he had given me four years earlier. The life was fading from his eyes. My heart sank; I wrapped my arms around him as he screamed at the pain overtaking his fragile body. I turned around to face Plasmius, once again gazing loathingly at where he had fallen, he was gone. For a moment, I was worried, but then I shook it off, pulling out my cell phone, dialing 911. Help would arrive soon, but I was beginning to feel like they were going to be too late.

"Sam," he muttered weakly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Danny, hang on."

"I don't know if I can Sam but, you can't let this hang over your head, promise me, promise that you'll let me go, that you'll keep on living.'

"I promise, Danny,' I whispered.

He raised his left hand weakly as he tried to wipe the tears that had begun to fall from my face, pressing an object in my hand with his right hand. Slowly, I stared down at what he had handed me; it was a solid gold band, his wedding ring. I closed my eyes, for a moment, feeling the warmth of his caress against my flushing face. Then, suddenly, he stopped, his hand falling limply at his side with a soft thud. Fearfully, I opened my eyes. Danny laid in my arms, motionless, his deep cobalt eyes staring unseeing into the distance, as if they were boring right through me. I screamed in emotional agony, only holding him closer, as if holding out the faint hope that somehow my tight embrace could bring him back to me, but I had to face facts, it was over. Sirens screaming in my ears interrupted my morbid thoughts. My own cries had faded into a wounded moan as I began to lose my voice. Eerily, two paramedics ran out of the oncoming ambulance working their way towards Danny. Gently, prying me away from him, a tall, blonde paramedic with strong arms, turned towards his petite, brunette haired assistant.

"I hate it when we get these young ones," he muttered.

He climbed into the driver's seat while I climbed in the back of the ambulance with the brunette, a woman I later found out was named Diane, and she looked aged beyond her years, at least in her early fifties by my estimates. Out of protocol, she had performed all the necessary tests but there was nothing that she could do, at the tender age of twenty- one, he was pronounced dead. Robotically, she moved to close his eyes. With determination, I held my hand out stopping her.

"Let me do it," I pleaded desperately.

"Sure kid," she said, staring at me strangely.

For a moment I gazed into his lifeless indigo eyes, then I closed them, losing contact with his beautiful blue orbs. Tears brimmed around my eyes. The rest of the ride to the hospital was silent. My life had been changed forever for the worst.

It has been seven years since the day that tore my world apart. Somehow, my life had returned to normal. As they had before, rumors flew around town that Danny was back as Danny Phantom, and this time I was hopeful. On rare occasions he came to visit in between fighting every new ghostly threat that ransacked our town.

David has managed to grow into a sweet, lovable seven year old boy, one that is still a spinning image of his departed father. From time to time, he still asks about his dad, the dad he never knew. Even though he was still young it did not take him long to piece together the fact that the ghostly man that had been visiting us from time to time and his deceased Dad were the same man. So, in a way, it is as if Danny never really left. He is still here, just in a different way. As for me, I have finally let go, considering the fact that there is still really nothing to let go of. Today, I still wear Danny's wedding ring on a golden chain around my neck. It is the only physical reminder that I have left of him. I am healing, but the scars will always be there. However, I have managed to take Danny's advice. At times, I still miss him, the way he was, but if there is one thing that Danny has taught me throughout this whole experience, it is that life is meant to be lived to the fullest, despite the unwanted twists and turns of the road that it may take you down. So, I did not stop living, I just moved to a different stage in my life. I still love him, that much will never change, but I am finally whole again, and the pieces of my shattered world are slowly beginning to fall into place.

22


End file.
